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Pelagianism in the Formation and Reformation of the Christian Church

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Pelagianism in the Formation and Reformation of the Christian Church Charles R. Biggs Page 1 Pelagianism in the Formation and Reformation of the Christian Church By Charles R. Biggs Table of Contents • Part I: Pelagianism in the Formation of the Christian Church • Part II: Pelagianism in the Reformation of the Christian Church • Epilogue • Appendix I: The Teachings of Pelagius • Appendix II: The Synod of Orange • Appendix III: Views on the Imputation of Sin • Appendix IV: Luther's Doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone • Appendix V: The Council of Trent on Authority • Bibliography and Further Reading Part I By the middle of the second century, the Church had developed the Apostle's Creed which contained the foundational doctrines, or essential beliefs of the Christian Church. In the 4th century, the doctrines of the Trinity and the two natures of Christ had been established at the Councils of Nicea in 325 AD, Ephesus in 431 AD, and Chalcedon in 451 AD. The doctrine of soteriology however, or the doctrine of salvation and grace had not been clearly and systematically established until Augustine and the Pelagian controversy in the 5th century in the West. These doctrines of Salvation and Grace would continue to be debated throughout church history, through the Medieval period, the Reformation, and up to the 20th century. In contrast to these Augustinian doctrines of sin and grace, the controversial doctrine of Pelagianism would reappear in many forms to challenge these doctrines. Although the major teachings of God and Christ had been established, what had not been fully established up to this time were the questions "What did Christ accomplish in his life and death?" and "How is this work of God applied to man?" It would not be until the medieval church when the Atonement of Christ was fully developed, but the doctrine of Salvation began to be fully fleshed out with Augustine. It has been said by the great 19th century Church Historian Philip Schaff, that the history of the Church unfolds much like the writings of systematic theology. The doctrines of God and the person of Christ are built, then the doctrines of man, his condition and relationship to God. Augustine was born in Thagaste, to African parents of Romanized Berber origins on November 13, 354 AD. He was educated in Carthage, a prominent North African city, and was considered a very great intellectual man in the Western world. He was converted to Christianity in 386 AD after the prayers of a very devout mother and the influence of an intellectual bishop by the name of Ambrose. Before his conversion, he had lived a somewhat reckless and pagan life according to his book Confessions. Augustine's Confessions are not merely his autobiography but also his first theological treatise written five years before the turn of the fifth century. Page 1 of 15 Charles R. Biggs Page 2 Because of his great education, Augustine saw the Old Testament scriptures, as did many educated people of this period, as a gathering of myths or "old wives tales." Manicheism rejected the Old Testament and sought reason to define Christianity opposed to revelation, and this made him very susceptible to this group because of his association with reason in general and Platonism in particular. He joined this heretical sect and made several converts during the nine years in which he remained. After Augustine's move to Milan, he met a Christian intellectual named Ambrose. He would sit under his teaching, learning as much about Christianity as he could. Ambrose convinced him of the soundness of not only the Old Testament, but the truth of the New Testament as well, and Augustine was baptized by the great bishop in 387 AD He moved back to North Africa after his conversion and the death of his mother Monica, where he was influenced by the people of Hippo to be their bishop. The first great schism in the church, and the first controversy in which Augustine dealt was what is known as the Donatist controversy. Simply stated, The Donatists believed they were the only church and that the Catholic, or universal church, could not be if they disagreed with the Donatist's teachings. The Donatists held that the Sacraments could not be administered if the Bishop of the congregation was unfit. They saw that the Sacraments' effect on the church member was based on the righteousness of the Bishop administering. Augustine responded by saying that "The Sacraments are the work of God, not of men. They do not, therefore, depend on the character of the administrator." It followed because of this belief of the Donatists, building upon the early church father Cyprian's statement: "You cannot have God as your Father, if you do not have the Church as your mother," that if they were the true Church, anyone outside their walls were not Christians. The Church was pure, and therefore no one that is "unrighteous" should be allowed entrance, and definitely not administered the Sacraments of God's grace. Augustine responded, in his intellectual style and protective position as Bishop of his congregation, by arguing with the Donatists. He stated Christ used the parable of the wheat and tares to establish that the true Church would have "Many wolves within, and many sheep without." He also pointed out that it was not right judgment for any Christian to claim another is an unbeliever and a heretic if they are willing to state the creeds and agree with the basic biblical teaching (i.e. the Apostle's Creed and the catechesis). The famous quote: "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in everything, charity" came from the writings Against the Donatists and established the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church in their ecclesiology, or doctrine of the Church throughout the Medieval period. The debate between Augustine and the Donatists is officially ended at the Council of Carthage in 411 AD, when the Donatists and their teachings are condemned by the Church. The second major controversy with which Augustine would have to deal as Bishop, was the problem of Pelagianism. M any scholars compare this dispute against Pelagian with M artin Luther and the 16th c. Reformation, much because of the arguments that were used in the theological arguments such as Original Sin, Justification by Faith alone, and the depravity of man; not to mention that Luther was an Augustinian Monk before his reformation. Page 2 of 15 Charles R. Biggs Page 3 Pelagius was a British monk, a very zealous preacher who was castrated for the sake of the kingdom and given to rigorous asceticism. He desired to live a life of perfect holiness. In Christian history, he has come to be the archheretic of the church, but in his early writings he was very orthodox and sought to maintain and uphold the creeds of the early church. He came from Rome to Carthage in the year 411 AD, while Augustine was away during the Council of Carthage. He taught the people of North Africa a new emphasis on morals and the rigorous life of living the Gospel, because he was shocked by the low tone of Roman morals. He thought that the teachings of Augustine, which he had heard in Rome, cheapened grace and gave men the ability to live a life that they pleased, without much respect for the commands of God. The problem with his reputation in history has been his doctrine of soteriology. According to orthodox theology, he makes fatal errors in this theology of salvation: "Self acquired virtue is the supreme good which is followed by reward," or as a basic thesis: "Justification by the person's own good works." The debate between Augustine and Pelagius began when Pelagius took issue with a quotation from Augustine's Confessions: "Command what thy will; and grant what thou commandest." This meant that we needed to ask God for ability to do what God commands (this implies that God gives us the desire to do this, thus preceding our actions). We will see this Augustinian teaching later in history during the reformation when Luther writes similarly in his Bondage of the Will to Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam. Luther says, "We cannot come to Christ, unless the Father gives us that ability," relying on the writings of Paul in Ephesians Chapter 1,2 and the Book of John Chapter 6. The objection Pelagius had against Augustine was "How could God command us to do anything if we were unable to do what he commands?" Pelagius responded by saying: "God does not command us to do anything that we cannot do….If I ought, then I can." This problem hinges around his understanding of Original Sin. Original Sin is stated, "Adam is created mortal and would have died even if he had never sinned." Augustine said, "Adam was created good and upright, he was happy and in communion with God…Adam would not have died if he had not sinned but that he was on trial, and when he failed his depravity was communicated to his offspring throughout history so that the Old and New Testaments speak of man's depravity from Genesis to Revelation." (Genesis 6; Psalm 51; Jer. 17:9; John 6:44; Matt. 15; Eph.1; Romans 3:11-23). Augustine argued to Pelagius that Adam was "posse peccare," "posse non peccare." He had the ability to sin and the ability to not sin, but since the fall in his disobedience, death came through Adam in his sin (Gen.3; Romans 5:12-21). Adam was on trial and chosen by God to represent the human race, therefore because of his failure and disobedience to God, Adam's offspring are born in sin (Ps.
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